Timberwolves second-year forward Derrick Williams lost 15 pounds last summer so he presumably could find more action at a small-forward spot he seldom played last season.

The Wolves then went out and signed free-agent small forwards Andrei Kirilenko in July and Josh Howard earlier this month. When Kevin Love returned from a season-opening broken hand on Wednesday, Williams suddenly went from a starting small forward who scored 23 points his last game out to a bystander who watched every second of games against Denver on Wednesday and at Portland on Friday before playing some Saturday night at Golden State.

So is the small-forward experiment over?

Wolves coach Rick Adelman shook his head sideways and said, "It's still early in the year."

Love's unexpected return on Wednesday has left Williams on the outside at power forward, a position where Love plays 35 minutes a night even when he hasn't practiced a bit for five weeks. It's also where Adelman has made it clear that Dante Cunningham thus far has beaten Williams out for minutes.